Funding from the Kansas Board of Regents "Improving Teacher Quality" Program (ESEA Title IIA) in 2012.

Pittsburgh State University will offer a two-week summer workshop in physical science with math modeling for middle school teachers. Participants are exposed to Modeling as a systematic approach to the design of curriculum and instruction. The workshop includes the latest results of science education research, best practices in middle school science teaching, options in technology, and experience in collaborative learning.

The workshop, Modeling Instruction Institute (MI2), is supported by an Improving Teacher Quality Partnership grant administered by the Kansas Board of Regents.

Why Modeling Instruction? Extensive research supports the effectiveness of the Modeling approach in enhancing student learning. Based on a comparison of traditional high school instruction, Modeling high school students score an average of about 1.5 standard deviations higher on assessments of conceptual understanding of physics.

Workshop Goals include:• Improve instructional pedagogy by implementing research-based instructional strategies, inquiry methods, critical and creative thinking, cooperative learning, use of standardized evaluation instruments, and effective use of classroom technology in instruction.• Deepen content understanding in physical science by using multiple representational tools for constructing scientific models.• Learn effective pedagogical strategies from veteran educators who model these strategies throughout the workshop.• Participate in an on-going collaboration among partners through a state-wide professional learning community of modeling teachers.• Enhance/improve science curriculum in your school district.

A concurrent workshop will convene at Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kansas during the same dates.